Launch of GCTC SuperClusters and EPA Funding Opportunity
Hello all,
It has been a few months since the Global City Teams Challenge (GCTC) Expo in June, and we are excited to move forward to the next phase of GCTC. To that end, I am today writing with three objectives. First, I want to introduce the focus of the next phase of GCTC collaboration - "SuperClusters." Second, I want to provide information about the October 25-26, 2016 launch event for the next phase of GCTC in Washington, DC. Third, I want to share with you an exciting opportunity recently announced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
GCTC SuperClusters: Building on the success of the 2016 GCTC Expo in Austin, NIST and US Ignite have determined that the next phase of the GCTC will encourage the formation of GCTC SuperClusters. Composed of multiple, existing GCTC Action Clusters, GCTC SuperClusters will enable the teams to join forces and pursue shared objectives and common approaches for collaborative deployment.
Based on discussions with GCTC Action Cluster team leads, we anticipate that one or more GCTC SuperClusters will form in each of the following areas:
Emergency Preparedness, Disaster Recovery, and Resilience
Energy, Utilities, Water, and Microgrids
Environment & Healthcare
Municipal Dashboards
Transportation
We believe efforts to support GCTC SuperClusters will result in tangible deployments that are multi-city and multi-stakeholder in nature. Our objective is to create a mechanism that enables existing GCTC teams to work together and, in so doing, increase the scale and impact of their efforts.
The GCTC SuperCluster Kickoff Event: The launch event for this phase of the GCTC will take place October 25-26 at the Washington Grand Hyatt. Please register for the event using the following link: https://appam.certain.com/profile/form/index.cfm?PKformID=0x31807ff23
The two-day event will start with a half-day plenary session followed by one-and-a-half days of working sessions. The working sessions will include presentations from GCTC teams and cities with an interest in leading the formation of SuperClusters and moderated discussions related to sector-specific SuperCluster meetings that are planned for the first three months of 2017.
I invite all entities with an interest in participating in this exciting initiative to join us in Washington on October 25-26. The event is free, but registration is required.
A block of rooms at the Washington Grand Hyatt has been reserved for the GCTC event. To take advantage of the reserved rooms, please use this link: https://resweb.passkey.com/go/EnergeticsIncorporated . The deadline for hotel reservations at this preferred rate is October 3rd.
Also, limited travel support is available for local government officials. Please contact Bill Maguire (william.maguire@us-ignite.org) at US Ignite or me (sokwoo.rhee@nist.gov) for more details.
EPA's Smart City Air Challenge: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is conducting a Smart City Air Challenge, which encourages communities to deploy hundreds of air quality sensors and make the resulting data open. Local governments will partner with sensor manufacturers, data management companies, and others. Together they'll create strategies for collecting and using the data. EPA will award prizes of up to $40,000 to two communities based on their strategies, including their plans to share their data management methods so others can benefit. The prizes are intended to be seed money, so the partnerships are essential. After a year, the EPA will evaluate the accomplishments and collaboration of the two communities and award up to an additional $10,000 to each community. The challenge is open until October 28.
For more information, visit the Smart City Air Challenge website or write to EPA at smartcityairchallenge@epa.gov.
Best Regards,
Sokwoo Rhee
Associate Director of Cyber-Physical Systems Program
National Institute of Standards and Technology